ABSTRACT
Knowing when to replace and retire a program when it reaches the end of its useful life is the success recipe that will be discussed in this chapter. Soœware lives on forever in the minds of its users. Because it is not subject to wear and does not deteriorate over time, many believe that it will continue to function forever if you leave it alone. But, most soœware users know that soœware gets tired, can break, and oœen slows with age. ere are many reasons for this occurrence. One of the principle reasons is that the world in which the soœware lives and operates frequently changes (e.g., when new computing hardware is introduced the operating systems and associated utilities are replaced with more up-to-date versions). ese changes stimulate a stream of soœware updates that proliferate and seem endless. Many of these changes provide needed functionality, but others among them create issues and cause unintended consequences like performance slowdowns caused by too many temporary §les.
